Skip to content Skip to navigation

The Day of Glory for India

On August 15 this year India will celebrate the 60 th Independence Day to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947 . Sixty years ago on this day flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs took place in all the state capitals. In all the cities around India the flag hoisting ceremony was done by politicians belonging to that constituency.

In Assam, it was so arranged that India's national flag, which replaced the flag of the revolution, would be hoisted on behalf of the organ of revolution, the Indian National Congress and not the Government. So it came to pass that Maulana M. Tayyebulla, as the President of Assam Congress, ceremonially unfurled the national flag at Guwahati (then Gauhati), the headquarters of Congress in Assam, heralding the advent of freedom.

The Day of Glory for India, will remain the proudest day of my life because I can say that it was Maulana Tayyebulla, my father who hoisted the Indian national flag on the first indepedence day. How I wish every son or daughter could say that about his or her father!

On this great and auspicious occasion, while unfurling the flag, my father paid the nation's homage to the brave Kanaklatas of the country who by their blood streaking from the bullet-holes in their breasts gave to the nation this great ensign of freedom, and hundreds of Kushal Kunwars who gave their lives on the gallows and faced the bullet, and thousands who made immense sacrifices and suffered for the liberation of our Motherland – these martyrs and heroes of the land.

Compared to the glorious deeds of the martyrs and heroes, my father's jail-going (he suffered imprisonment first in 1921 then in 1931 and 1939 and finally in 1942) was like pale moon-shine before the blaze of the shiny orb. In the words of the Poet-Laureate Tagore: ' Amar matha nato kore dao he Prabhu' (O Lord, make my head bow low.)

One event of interest: Before the 'appointed day' of the Independence of India Act, 1947, the Governor of Assam, the late Sir Akbar Saleh Hydari 'before the appointed day' promulgated a Notification under the Act on August 14, 1947, inaugurating Joint Electorate as the system of voting – the first in India, pre-Constitution.

Tayyebulla was thus the first man in India to be elected in November 1947, by Joint-Electorate suffrage to the Legislature, to the Assam Legislative Assembly. The ancien regime 'devil' of separate electorate was at last cast away.

By non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi emancipated India in bondage to freedom. The British Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, coming soon after the Chruchillian Viceroy the Lord Linlithgow, became free India's own Quit-India Governor-General. Did not Loius quit the shore of India as India's best friend in the United Kingdom? What a miracle: Non-violent means had non-violent end! In Gandhian philosophy of non-violence, means and end are one and the same concept. As night follows the day, non-violent revolution, the means, led to the non-violent Quit India, the end. This is Gandhian doctrine having roots in the Law of Karma of Hindu-cum-Buddhist scriptures and in the biblical Law of Love, as was preached and practised by Jesus.

Non-violence of Gandhi bridged the wide gulf between India and Britain, and brought the two great countries closer together as never before. This is the legacy of Gandhi – the triumph of non-violence. Britain quit India and free India was born.

May the Republic of India - the 'Bharat Mata' of the Hindus, the 'Hindustan' of the Muslims and the 'India' of the Christians – established on the basis of Gandhian polity of non-violent socialism (call it 'Sarvodaya') and secularism grow from strength to strength year by year in every way. Jai Hind.

by Omar Luther King


OmarThe writer of this article Omar Luther King was born in Nowgong, Assam to a Muslim family of Indian national freedom fighters, Omar is now residing in Delhi with his wife Roma, and their sons Amit (25) and Aman (21). He is the son of Maulana M. Tayyebulla, the President of Assam Congress at the time of independence, the person who ceremonially unfurled the national flag at Guwahati (then Gauhati), the headquarters of Congress in Assam, heralding the advent of freedom.

After studying in Cotton College, Guwahati and passing out from Guwahati University, he worked in Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi as Research Assistant, in YMCA, Guwahati as the Secretary, in the Lok Sabha Secretariat as Research Assistant and in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat as Assistant Director. He is now serving the Lord fulltime as a missionary amongst the Muslims of Northeast India, Bangladesh and other Islamic countries. He has travelled widely in India as a government servant and outside India as a missionary.

His writings have appeared in several national dailies and periodicals, not to speak of Christian magazines. Author of “Indian Boy in Love – Essence of Religion” (1966), he has also written his autobiography, “My God, My India, My Family and Me”.

Comments

KUTTY R.K.'s picture

Dear Bro. Omar, At the very out-set, I reciprocate your Good Wishes for the 60th Independence Day of our great nation with the same warmth with which you had wished me. How lucky are you that you are born of a father who shed his blood and sweat for gaining this freedom from the British brutalities. I feel jealous of you that your family's and your's contributions for the cause of this nation is too much. Nationhood is really a great feeling. One should be proud of his/her motherland. I for one belonging to the southernmost part of India too was born at a time when I could gain the knowledge of the sacrifices of our legendary freedom fighters through history books. I was born in 1952. Of course, my parents were ardent Indian National Congress supporters. They too injected that national spirit in me as well. Since you have worked closely with the highest power centres at Delhi and is now living there, you need hardly to be educated about the fruits of the physical Independence that India as a whole enjoy now after 60 long years. But I thank my Lord for you specifically since that day onwards when you start enjoying the spiritual Independence from the Lord (Galatians 5:1-2). And now, you as a family of the House of Lord, you are enjoying that freedom and travelling so far and wide in proclaiming it to many who are still in bondage. Millions of Indians are still unknown about it. We need to be filled with that spirit of the good old freedom fighters to redeem those who are still captived by the enemy, darkening their minds, so that the light of Crist's redemptive power won't shine on them. Wishing you all once-again a Very Happy Independence Day. All the Best Wishes. Yours truly in Him RK Kutty
NK Singh's picture

King Saheb Yr flair and skill of writing has sharpened a great deal i must say after reading the piece. Regards NK Singh

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

More matured conversation needed - KWS

10 Mar 2017 - 9:01pm | AT Staff Reporter
“The dolphin’s position is same in the river ecosystem as a tiger in a forest.Declared Assam’s State Aquatic Animal in 2008,the Gangetic River Dolphin went on to become the National Aquatic Animal a...

Amir Khan in Tezpur

7 Nov 2013 - 10:30am | AT News
Bollywood actor-director Amir Khan in on a 5 days personal visit to Assam. Accompanied by his family members, the Loogan director landed at the Salonibari airport at 1 pm on Wednesday and straightly...

Talks: ULFA flays Gogoi

19 Aug 2007 - 1:36pm | pbaruah
GUWAHATI: United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) charges Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of dishonouring his own commitments for a successful negotiation.In its latest mouthpiece Freedom , the...

Chakka bandh hits transport service

12 Feb 2018 - 9:43am | AT News
GUWAHATI: A 24 hour statewide chakka bandh heavily disrupted the road transport services in Assam causing immense inconvenience for the commuters on Monday. All Assam Motor Workers Association has...

Other Contents by Author

Normal life in the state has come to a grinding halt across the state due to the 12-hour Assam bandh on Tuesday. Called by the United Liberation Front of Asom, the bandh is by and large peaceful. There is no report of any incidents during this period. Schools, colleges, offices, business, financial and establishments are remaining closed. All sorts vehicles are remaining off from the streets. The city is remaining closed and calm. The bandh began at 5-30 in the morning to end at 5-30 in the evening. However, train and flight services are operating normally during the bandh hours. The bandh however, had no impact in North Cachar and Karbi Anglong districts. The ULFA called the bandh...
A 12 hour statewide Assam bandh is disrupting normal life on Tuesday. Barring police army and vehicles, the streets are wearing a deserted look. Shops and other business establishments are also closing. The schools in the morning are also remaining closed. The proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom is calling the statewide Assam bandh demanding immediate release of PCG member and human rights activist Lachit Bordoloi and demanding killing of innocent youths in the name of encounter.
The Centre is all set to start oil exploration in the Brahmaputra river basin saying it could boost oil production. Addressing the golden jubilee function of Oil India Limited (OIL) here on Monday, DONER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said the basin has huge potential of oil reserve which had to be exploited. He said the exploration work will start as soon as the required environmental clearance was received. According to Aiyar, oil exploration work would also start in Tirap and Changland districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Guwahati based journalist and a regular contributor to 'Assam Times', Nava Thakuria has been awarded with the first media fellowship on refugee issues sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES). The Fellowship with the theme, 'The Chins of Myanmar: Refugee Life in a Distant Neighbour', with a focus on Protection and Durable Solutions for the Chin ethnic group from Western Myanmar, which lives in challenging conditions in the Northeast as well as in New Delhi starts from 1 March to 31 May.The announcement was made by a Committee comprising Mr. Sanjoy Hazarika, C-NES Managing Trustee, journalist...
With much fanfare and cultural extravaganza, the colourful Karbi Youth festival is going on atop the Karbi hills. The colourful cultural event of the Karbi youths was inaugurated by Assam Governor Lt general (retd) Ajoy Singh on Saturday. The event marked its beginning with a glowing tribute to the Karbi culture legend Rangsina Sarpo. In his address, the Governor said he was really mesmerized by the Karbi songs and dance adding that has turned 75 but never did he enjoy these cultural festival. In his address, veteran Karbi political leader Dr Jayanta Rongpi said only autonomous state could restore permanent peace and prosperity in the hills district.
Assam BJP leadership has come in for sharp criticism following the party’s poor performance in the recent panchayat polls. Several leaders within the party have openly criticized the state unit president Ramen Deka saying he failed to reach the grass root level. With this it has become clear that dissidence against Ramen Daka is resurfacing within the party. The recent panchayat polls have painted a dismal picture for the party where only 1600 have been elected out of more than 8000 candidates the party fielded across the state. It was quite deplorable compared to the performance in 2001.
The Assam BJP has demanded a specific set of policy from the Government on conversion saying it is mother of all social tension in the state. Addressing a press conference on Sunday in the city, state BJP president Ramen Deka said conversion has been the main reason behind the simmering social tensions in Assam. Saying it inadmissible, Mr Deka added that conversion is still going on in Assam adding that a clear cut policy should have to be there to regulate these. He further said infiltration has already disturbed the state’s demography and it will be more harmful if conversion continues.
The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad has staged a statewide silent protest on Saturday demanding immediate release of PCG member Lachit Bordoloi, stopping police harassment on lawyer Nekibur The AJYCP activists in Guwahati staged the silent protest with black clothes in their faces demanding an end to the autocratic rule of the Tarun Gogoi government. The agitating student leaders said the arrest of PCG member Lachit Bordoloi is nothing but a bid desperate bid to foil the peace process. They further threaten to intensify the agitation if the government fails to ignore these demands.
A microlite glider of the Indian Air Force nose landed in a tea estate near the IAF eastern aircommand base at Chabua in Dibrugarh district on Saturday at around 10-30. The pilot sustained minor injury in his hand while co-pilot escaped unhurt. The two-seater glider also did not suffer much damage,. The glider developed a technical snag, two minutes after taking off from Chabua.
United People's Front, Manipur Organized a Mega Marathon 2008 in Manipur with theme 'Run for your Nation' on 17-02-08 from Khuman Lampak Main Stadium. This is second time which is biggest ever in Manipur. Pix by UB Photos.